Reykjavík Preschool System to Expand Substantially in Next Six Years

News

Reykjavík Preschool System to Expand Substantially in Next Six Years

Over eight hundred spaces will be added to Reykjavík’s preschool system over the next six years, RÚV reports. This will be accomplished by building five to six new preschools, at a total cost of roughly ISK 3 Billion [$30,210,000]. The proposal was first presented to the city council, where it received the approval of the majority of council members, and then announced at a press conference on Thursday.

In an interview with RÚV, Reykjavík mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson explained that the cost of growing the city’s preschool system would only come to ISK600 [$6,042,000] this year, although future expenses and investments would eventually bring the total cost to ISK 3 Billion.

It’s been said by some that Thursday’s announcement on preschool improvements is a bid to curry favor just before the upcoming election, a suggestion that Dagur shrugged off: “...[W]e said at the beginning of the term that it would take two terms to finish addressing issues with the preschools.” This sentiment was echoed by Líf Magneudóttir, a representative from the Left Green party. “Of course, it’s an enormous amount of work, requiring us to analyze the entire system and talk to a number of individuals, staff, preschool directors, and parents,” she said. “It’s an extensive project and it’s simply taken time.”